Nothing thwarted young Darwin's intense joy and interest in collecting
minerals and insects, and in watching and making notes upon the habits
of birds. In addition to this wholesome outdoor hobby, the tedium of
school lessons was relieved for him by reading Shakespeare, Byron and
Scott--also a copy of "Wonders of the World" which belonged to one of
the boys, and to which he always attributed his first desire to travel
in remote countries, little thinking how his dreams would be fulfilled.

Whilst Charles Darwin occupied himself with outdoor sport and
collecting, with a very moderate amount of reading thrown in at
intervals, Wallace, on the contrary, devoured all the books he could
get; and fortunately for him, his father having been appointed Librarian
to the Hertford Town Library, Alfred had access to all the books that
appealed to his mental appetite; and these, especially the historical
novels, supplemented the lack of interesting history lessons at school,
besides giving him an insight into many kinds of literature suited to
his varied tastes and temperament. In addition, however, to the hours
spent in reading, he and his brother John found endless delight in
turning the loft of an outhouse adjoining their yard into a sort of
mechanical factory. Here they contrived, by saving up all their pence
(the only pocket-money that came to them), to make crackers and other
simple fireworks, and to turn old keys into toy cannon, besides making a
large variety of articles for practical domestic purposes. Thus he
cultivated the gift of resourcefulness and self-reliance on which he had
so often to depend when far removed from all civilisation during his
travels on the Amazon and in the Malay Archipelago.

A somewhat amusing instance of this is found in a letter to his sister,
dated June 25th, 1855, at a time when he wanted a really capable man for